First-time buyers 'renting for longer'
25/02/2010
Many first-time buyers are priced out of the current mortgage market and are instead choosing to remain longer in rental property, the chairman of the Residential Landlords Association has observed.
Alan Ward commented that an increase in the number of renters is "inevitable" during any period of recession, as there are fewer houses on the market and the level of deposit required to get a mortgage - "not less than 20 per cent" - is too high for some.
He added that rental demand is likely to "remain strong for the foreseeable future" and pointed out that for some people, renting makes "financial sense" when compared to paying for a "more expensive mortgage".
Figures published on February 23rd by Communities and Local Government indicated that the number of households renting privately has increased from 2.1 million in 2001 to 3.1 million in 2008-09.
Some 59 per cent of all private renters plan to eventually purchase a home in the UK - 24 per cent of these intend to buy within the next two years, according to the report.
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